On 17th January the Safety of Rwanda Bill passed in the House of Commons with no amendments. It will now go to the House of Lords for consideration. While this political skirmish is going on, our clients are stuck in limbo without knowing what is going to happen to them.
The Safety of Rwanda Bill passed in the House of Commons with a majority of 44.
Since the government first introduced their plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda in 2022, legal experts have been warning the government that the plan breaches international and domestic law. On 16th January, UNHCR published an updated legal assessment of the Safety of Rwanda Bill, concluding that the Rwanda plan continues to violate international law.
Lots of the asylum seekers we support in Oxford have received letters telling them that they may be sent to Rwanda. Even if the plan comes to fruition, only a few hundred asylum seekers are set to be sent to Rwanda. Yet thousands are stuck in limbo, confused and anxious about their future, and unable to begin their life in the UK.
One young person we work with has been in the UK for a year and a half. He was told when he arrived that the Home Office had sought Rwanda’s agreement for him to be relocated there, and the Rwandan authorities had approved his relocation. Since then, he has heard nothing, and his case has stalled. He continues to see his friends being granted asylum and moving on with their lives. As he continues to wait for the government to continue their headline-grabbing petty infighting, his mental health is deteriorating.
As the government continues its efforts to get its Rwanda plan off the ground, the vagueness and uncertainty only adds to the distress experienced by the people we work with.
